Moby Dick (1998)

I watched this immediately after finishing the book, and all I can say is that I am a bit baffled.There were quite a lot of changes made in this version, compared to the book. Now, while this is a pretty normal thing, most adaptations require changes, I must say that all the changes made here were for the worse.All the ways this movie/mini-series differs from the original book are bad. I cannot understand why the makers of this film made the changes they made. It seems to me they cut out the very depth of the story.Most of the characters, for example, were more shallow, more over-the-top, like caricatures of the originals. This ruins the mood and the atmosphere of the story. Granted, the at times ridiculous language in the book does a bit of the same in the original, but not nearly as badly as the style of this adaptation.I feel that the whole core of the book Moby Dick is the character of Ahab, and his dual nature. He is hell bent on killing the whale, but also, deep down, a good man. Now, for some reason, the latter aspect of the character was much down-played in this version. The beauty of the original story is Ahab's own struggle with his obsession, and all the rest of the events in the story are just reflections of this internal struggle. This version does itself a disservice by not following the original on this.The book has it's problems, it's long and tedious, but the story within is a far better one than the one told by this adaptation.

The film is a masterpiece of literature, and while this film is inferior to the book, which is of no surprise really, for a TV film it wasn't that bad at all. I have to admit and this is probably blasphemy to some people here I am not a fan of the 1956 film, though I am a fan of the director John Huston, but I found it too slow for my liking and Gregory Peck I found dull as Captain Ahab. This TV version is no masterpiece in any shape or form, but it is a worthy re-make. It does start off slow, but picks up at the end, and while I found Moby Dick adequately menacing in the 1956 film this whale I didn't care for as much. Flaws aside, it is competently made, yes with some uneven effects on occasions, but the scenery, cinematography and ship are impressively rendered, while the score and script are good. And I was surprised at how faithful in general the film was in terms of story to the book. Along the way there are some improvements too, Patrick Stewart is wonderful in the title role, actually capturing the demonic presence of Captain Ahab much better than Gregory Peck, who gives a confident performance as Father Mapple in a role that suits him better I feel. Overall, a worthy re-make if inferior to the brilliant book. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Any one who has read the book or seen the 1956 version are if for a terrible disappointment. Obviously made for TV with all the required commercial breaks to keep the viewer glued to the set; this production not only reinvents the original plot, but also adds in it's own "dark philosophy" of Ahab. Queequeg jabbers like a magpie, Starbuck is a lilly-livered character, and the crew is a mishmash of Africans, crazies, American Indian (?) and what have you. In essence, a waste of time.The 1956 version, though there are some deviations from the book, still gives the depth that Melville intended to portray. True, Moby Dick may be snazzier in the recent version, but he is PURE white, and looks very plastic. The 1956 whale at least had some age about him, especially since Ahab remarked "when you smell land, and there be no land." The pure white whale would be scentless as opposed to the white/greenish/brownish one in the earlier version.

I rented this remake with high expectations.I was disappointed.In four hours, they failed to tell half the story Huston and Bradbury got so perfectly right in the 1956 classic.Huston's classic is a little dated, particularly in terms of special effects that look like the miniatures they in fact are. While the CGI whale in this remake is a refreshingly-convincing manifestation of a 60-foot sperm whale, it's not Moby Dick.This movie is bright and colorful, and the whale's just a whale. The cast doesn't come across as seasoned whalers, it feels like actors playing weekend yachtsmen, thanks in no small part to a script that can't seem to respect the intelligence of its audience.Moby Dick is a dark, slow story of building, brooding menace, which makes the moments of action all the more thrilling and terrifying.This remake captures none of the atmosphere or colorful character or menace of Melville's classic. At its best moments, it's simply re-hashing moments that were were perfected 42 years before.If you want to see Moby Dick, see John Huston's 1956 masterpiece.